At this week’s meeting of the Town Council Planning Committee we discussed several applications that are due before the County Council planners. 

As a reminder, we are only able to comment on applications, we cannot grant or refuse applications. However, hopefully the council will take our views into account. Sometimes councillors need to be reminded also that planning matters should not be the subject of a party “whip” , even at parish council level! 

We commented against the application for a golf driving range in the Green Belt south of South Newsham Road. 

We are broadly in favour of the development for housing at the links , although there are matters of detail that need to be confirmed. 

We again are broadly in favour of the proposed reversion of the gym on King Street to a flat. 

The committee will now meet every 3 weeks, and hopefully will be able to influence County Council planners for the good of Blyth.

There will be a meeting of the Police and Community Forum on Monday 22nd February at 6:30 , at South Beach Community Centre .

“Forums give you the chance to have your say - and get the facts about what the police and the police authority are doing to tackle crime in your area”

To allow for the repairs to Waterloo Road I have been informed that it will be closed from 22nd February.

This will allow a permanent reinstatement of the damage caused by the burst water main, and the repair of the area caused by the bad weather.

I had hoped that the road would be partly opened for bus traffic at least (it is a major bus route) , but I have now received confirmation that it will be closed. Bus routes will be diverted via Union Street and Plessey Road, or via Hodgsons Road, Cowpen Road and Renwick Road. I will check which bus routes will take which diversions.  

I am very disappointed in this, but I have been told that this will shorten the closure allowing the whole work to be done in one tranche.

The closure is effective until 30th April, but will last as long as needed and hopefully the work will be completed long before then.

I know that we cannot account for the weather, or a burst main, but I cannot help thinking that a lot of the remedial work could have been avoided if Blyth Valley Borough Council (as was) had ensured that the work was done to the best standard.

Well, I’ve had a reply to the question that was asked at the last council.

The DWP and our local MP could not answer it, so the Minister has answered it. Well, I say answered but I should really say responded to it.

The reply was two pages of A4 paper that basically said that the payments are based on data supplied by the Met Office. It doesn’t explain why there should be such a difference between the Blyth postcode and the surrounding postcodes, or why Whitley Bay, Cramlington  and Bedlington are deemed colder than Blyth.

I’ll write back, and if I get an answer, I’ll let you know

Northumberland County Council have announced that the time restrictions for holders of disabled bus pass holders will be abolished from 1st April.

Currently we disabled pass holders are restricted to between 9 in the morning and 11 at night, but from April we will be able to use the passes at all times.

I’m not sure about the time restrictions in other areas, but for Northumberland residents this is great news.

I know that there has been a thaw, and that we’re basking in temperatures of 3 degrees, but the subject of the DWP cold weather payments has been raised. I can’t get any sense from them, so I’ve put my question in writing.  My point is, when the areas around here (Whitley Bay, Ashington, Bedlington and Cramlington) have received 4 payments, why has Blyth received only two.

Blyth residents have suffered just as bad weather (some would say worse) than these area, so why are we discriminated against?

 When (or should I say if?) I get a reply, I’ll let you know.   Or if you know… pass it on.

I’m sorry that I haven’t updated this site in the last couple of weeks.

This post is just a brief one to keep you informed on progress.

The Town Council Finance Committee has started to look at next year’s budget. There is a range of services that the County Council are looking to devolve down to the parish (and town) councils.

We need to look at them and decide which, if any, we are taking on and how this will affect the precept. There is an argument that goes…. we paid for these under BVBC so by paying the Town Council to do them we are paying twice. But that is the simple position, by not having to do them the County Council can reduce the base budget by £400,000 over the county and therefore limit their council tax rise.

But the main point has been missed. It is a Labour government that has cut the payment to Northumberland County Council (among all local authorities) and it was a Labour government that imposed a single unitary council on Northumberland against opposition from all councils, political parties and members of the public.

Yet who are the main critics of the situation that the County Council finds itself in? I’ll let you guess!

Anyway, on what should have been a lighter note.

On Sunday I attended the Salvation Army Toy Service at Bedlington, and on Saturday I opened the Isabella Christmas Fayre.

These events should be above party politics, I was there in my Civic role as Deputy Mayor.

Yet on Saturday I received adverse comments from a Labour Party activist (not a councillor) about my presence, being a Liberal Democrat councillor.

So much for the season of goodwill !!

Final arrangements are being made for this year’s Christmas Lights switch on.

The entertainment will start at 4:30 with school choirs, and Pudsey will switch the lights on at 5:30

There will be a collection for Children in Need, collected by 1000 Squadron Blyth ATC

Hopefully the press releases will appear in the local papers, Journal, Chronicle and News Post Leader. If you have Facebook, please sign onto the “I’m attending the switch on of Blyth Christmas Lights” event , and invite all your Facebook friends

Many thanks to everyone involved.

Thanks to pressure from town and county councillors, Northumberland County Council have placed large planters on the Waterloo Road side of the Market Place.

These will have the dual purpose of adding some colour when filled with plants, and helping to stop parking on that strip of pavement. Well that was the idea, as today cars were parking between the planters and partly on the road, partly on the pavement, despite the double yellow lines.

Inconsiderate and illegal parking… …. park at one of the (still free !) car parks in Blyth!  If I can find out how to upload photos onto here I’ll post some examples, and I will NOT be hiding the number plates!

Today I had the honour of laying a wreath at the Cowpen War Memorial, in my role as Deputy Mayor. Over the last few days I have been to services at Blyth (for the submariners service), Newsham and Cowpen. Because the service at Cowpen is at the same time as that at Ridley Park, I wasn’t able to be at the main ceremony.

For all of them I was impressed at the organisation by the Royal British Legion and other organisations.

There were many “nice”moments in the various ceremonies, but two stood out.

One of the lesser campaigns in the period since the war was the Radfan campaign in Yemen, and two ex-servicemen, who didn’t know each other, were at the Cowpen ceremony. But the most moving was the football match at Briardale Rd fields, where the referee called for a minutes silence before the match. You come to expect it at Premier League and “big” matches, but it was nice to see at park football level.

It’s funny how the existing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq have brought people to consider the country’s losses in many campaigns.

My last ceremony will be on Wednesday 11th at Blyth Community College. It’s great how even at schools they pay their respects.

 It’s a well used cliche, but “LEST WE FORGET”

This summer has seen the first year of the letting of the 20 new chalets at the beach. Despite my cynicism about the costs of the chalets they don’t look bad. There, I admit it.

I was talking recently to a constituent, who works for the Leisure Trust who run the chalets on behalf of the council. When the leases went out, under the old Blyth Valley Council, it was said that 10 would be for longterm lets, and that 10 would be for short term lets (from daily to weekly ).

Still with me?

The long term lets would be open to anyone from within Blyth Valley or from outside the borough.

Well the constituent told me that 5 of the chalets are let to either current or former Labour councillors. 

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, if the allegations are true of course…..

EDIT 7th September.

I have been challenged by a Labour supporter locally to name names about this. I sent him the names, and explained that I was only told about this. He has backed down, giving rise to the suspicion that there might be some substance in the story. However, I will not name the current and former councillors on this site until I have proof of who they are.

This weekend sees the opening of the Blyth  Battery. It will be open from 11am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.

 There will be displays of military vehicles and re-enactors will be present.

 It’s well worth a visit!

As you may know, Jeff Reid is the Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Blyth Valley.

You can show your support for his campaign, and keep up with what he’s doing, on our new Facebook group, Vote for Jeff Reid.  Please join the group, and invite your friends

We will continue to deliver Focus leaflets, not only at election time,  but we thought that we should start using the world wide inter web thingy .

The Northumberland County Council has made an order making all the roads off Fulmar Drive and Albatross Way a 20mph zone.

The order takes effect on Monday next, 3rd August.

Already I have received mixed views, but most of the residents agree that it is time that speed was limited on this part of the estate.

The dissenting voices are all visitors, who do not agree with it. But residents views are, in this case, the ones that matter.

The demolition of South Beach First School started this week, and it’s nearly finished!

The site will be turned into the playing field of the new Academy.

Speaking of which, the building is nearly finished, and it should be open in September. It looks a nice building, it’s just too close to houses, too large, and will lead to even greater problems with parking. Apart from that, and the loss of what has been one of the finest first schools in Northumberland to a private Academy everythings fine. [/irony]

The Town Council is up and running at last, and at last night’s meeting we agreed various matters, mainly to do with procedures.

We set up our first committee, the Planning (and Development) Committee, which will look at any applications that are sent to us for comments. We cannot decide these applications, but as consultees we can give our views, and bring matters to the attention of the County Council Planning Committee.

We have also set up three working groups, to look at Budget & Finance, Staffing and Premises. These will start the ball rolling (aaah , cliche !!) in getting the council established and running.

Once the membership of these Working Groups and Committee is agreed I will let you know the LibDem contact details

Work is underway to clear the stream. To quote the BBC (no less):-

Work is under way to clean up a Northumberland stream and reduce the flood risk for people living nearby.

Newsham Burn, in Blyth, passes through South Beach estate, draining surface water, but also picks up debris.

In heavy rainfall the water level rises quickly, and if the stream became blocked it could flood up to 20 houses.

The Environment Agency says it is now working to remove vegetation and silt, and has replaced the trash screen to cope with higher flows.

Trash screens filter out debris and vegetation from watercourses, and although they are essential to prevent blockages, they themselves can sometimes become blocked.

Agency spokesman Les Collingwood said: “The work we’re carrying out should ensure the burn is in the best condition to cope with future sudden storm flows.

“This work can’t prevent flooding, but it should significantly reduce the flood risk for South Beach estate.”

 A welcome move… and a mention on the BBC.

I know it has been some time since I last posted, but with the abolition of BVBC I have not been as active.

• Northumberland Council have taken over the running of the departments formerly run by BVBC, and it has gone smoothly so far.

• The traffic lights are working well, and an informal survey of local residents shows support for them.

• The construction work at the school continues apace, and I’m led to believe that the school will open in September.

•  The construction work at the shop(s) is nearly finished, the new shop will be open in less than a month.

Well, it’s the first of April, and the first day of a Unitary Northumberland.

Despite the bad press put out by the local Labour party, the world hasn’t ended and the sun did rise this morning. In fact it has been a rather pleasant day. I had hoped that the new council would be allowed to get on with sorting out the mess, but I heard today of a senior Labour figure in the county getting his knickers in a twist about something and nothing up at County Hall.  More details later.

I asked for the banner at the top of this website to be changed to reflect Blyth Valley’s demise, when / if I’m elected to the new Blyth Town Council I’ll have to ask for it to be changed again. 

I really must take this chance to thank the electorate of firstly South Beach , and then the newly formed South Newsham, ward for their continued support over 16 years. Has it really been that long since I was first elected?

 In time I’ll bore you all with all the changes that have been made in the two wards, and the successes of the council as a whole and your Lib Dem councillors in particular in that period

“Twenty’s Plenty” areas are bounded by green-coloured 20mph advisory signs, which ask drivers to keep to a 20mph limit. There are no enforcement powers, or costs, associated with these signs, they are merely advisory.

They have been trialled successfully in other parts of the region, and have been shown to slow down traffic in what might otherwise be dangerous areas.

The other benefit is that there are no humps or other traffic calming measures. What do you think??

The lights are working!!  After what seems ages the traffic lights at the junction of Fulmar Drive and South Newsham Road are working. Initial comments from residents are very supportive, and at peak times the wait to get off the estate seems limited to about a minute or so. That is a vast improvement!

Despite the lights we had another crash… well more of a bump…. on the day that they were turned on. I understand that the driver didn’t see the red light; but he would have had to slow down or stop before the lights were installed, so driver error. Police are investigating.

Planning permission for the wind turbine at the beach was granted at Development Control Panel, with a few amendments and conditions. The exact location will have to be moved because the planned location is in the scheduled ancient monument. I knew this but couldn’t comment for fear that it would be construed as a comment against the development. What surprised me was that the planning officers weren’t aware of the location being within the ancient monument; luckily the other officers were and so the plans were amended.   The permission was also temporary for 10 years, to allow for a new one once the technology is available.

As Blyth Valley Council ceases to exist on 31st March, I have been asked what I will be doing with this “blog”.

I am not a Northumberland councillor, so I cannot just change the title, and although I may stand for the new Blyth Town council , that council won’t start for some time.

I might convert the title to “Alisdair Gibbs-Barton, on behalf of Blyth Liberal Democrats” and continue to report of matters that affect South Beach and South Newsham.

However, I need your views on this. E-mail me, or post a comment on this site, and let me know your views.

With the dodgy weather, I decided to attempt to renew my library books on-line.

I know that local services rely on people using them, but needing only to renew , and not return or take out new books I thought I’d attempt online renewal.

How simple was that? A very easy interface, and my books were renewed in seconds.

So well done Northumberland County Council!!

You may remember that last year I proposed that Blyth Spartans be given the Freedom of Blyth Valley.

Not unsurprisingly my proposal was rejected (without even being discussed at Council !!) , but as a sort of compromise they will be given a civc reception later this month.

EDIT: The Blyth Valley Housing Ltd meeting due for this night has now been put back, so members (such as myself, Jeff Reid and the Deputy leader of the council) who are in the “Housing Board” can attend. 

At last night’s meeting of Blyth Valley Council there were changes to the memberships of various committees , mainly due to Councillor Isles joining the Lib Dem group.

I was appointed to the council’s cabinet, and therefore had to come off the Sustainable Communities Review Commission.  I very much doubt that I, as an opposition councillor, will be given a portfolio in the cabinet. The 6 portfolios will have to be shared between the 5 Labour councillors.

The meeting was a disgrace in that the whole meeting was spent attacking the ruling Lib Dem group on the County, and future Unitary authority. 

A lot of Lib Dem councillors on the District Council are not on the County Council, so are not in a position to argue or defend the actions of the council. But as one Labour councillor admitted in the heat of debate, “I can’t have this argument at County Council, because I’m not on the County Council”  so gave a tirade of abuse on the County Council and its ruling group!

The real trouble is that Labour lost the election, and don’t like the prospect of being in opposition. Secretly I think some of them are glad that they don’t have to make the decisions on next years budget as there have to be some very difficult ones to make.

However the truth is that the Labour led County Council put in a bid for Unitary status (against the wishes of all groups at District level), they were supported by the Labour Government, and when the election came they lost it. And the new LIb Dem administration have to pick up the pieces!

Despite protests by thousands of residents across Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear the Post Office closures have been confirmed.

After all the “consultation” only one Post Office in the area has been saved.

Blyth Valley will lose Post Offices in Nelson Village and Holywell. Only two you may think… but they follow the ones at Broadway and in Newsham among others.

The one thing that comes out of this is the very Labour-esque way the process was done.

 I was always taught that the process should be “Consider, Consult, Decide”.

This process has been “Consider, Decide, Consult”.  Real consultatation? Forget it, the decision was already made!

I noticed this on the website of Councillor Stuart Bray (a Lib Dem councillor in Leicestershire). I quote :-

 Currently, fewer restrictions govern planning applications for phone masts up to 15 metres in height, often making it difficult for councils to refuse permission for controversial proposals.

Liberal Democrats in Parliament recently moved an amendment to the Planning Bill which would have meant applications for phone masts would have required full planning permission and therefore be considered in the same way as applications for new buildings or change of use of existing ones.

But Labour MPs voted against the call and Conservative MPs did not bother voting at all.

He went on to say , “Communities can sometimes be powerless to stop inappropriately sited phone masts going ahead because the planning system has fewer restrictions on them than for many other planning applications.

“This gives phone companies an advantage which is not enjoyed by other individuals and businesses applying for planning permission. Our amendment would have made the system fairer.

“I was very disappointed however to see that the Conservatives did not bother to vote for this change. They simply sat on their hands, despite telling everyone at the general election that they support this policy.

“As a result, [we] will continue to find it hard to battle against inappropriate phone masts.”

Well said Stuart, it reflects my views nicely

If you live in the area, you can’t have failed to notice the building work at South Beach shops.

The owners have received planning permission to extend upwards to include flats and to knock the shops into one.

Unfortunately they did not receive permission to completely knock the shops down and rebuild. BVBC planning officers are aware of what happened, and are investigating. I’ll keep you informed of developments…. (excuse the pun!)

Just a brief update on some local matters..

• It appears that compensation has been paid to the brewery for access over their “ransom strip” of land, and therefore the temporary road around the pub will go ahead. Good news of sorts to residents of Shearwater Way.
• The previous administration granted a lease of 125 years to Emmannuel Schools Foundation , so it doesn’t look as though they will be moving their “Junior Academy” to a more appropriate site.
• The traffic lights promised for Fulmar Drive / South Newsham Road may be installed in the late summer / early autumn. I’ll believe it when I see it, council officers will promise the earth if they think it will keep residents quiet

If and when I get more details about these I will let you know.

There will be a meeting at the South Beach Residents Association on Monday 9th June, to discuss the Traffic chaos that is Shearwater Way.

I don’t know who called the meeting, but I imagine residents of Shearwater Way who are most affected by the contractors traffic to the school.  If I had been informed of the meeting earlier I could have helped publicise it.

I should be there, and will be trying to contact other district and county councillors to make them aware of the meeting. However we are there to listen to the views expressed, not to defend the County Council or the Academy.

The council has recieved an application for a premises licence for South Newsham pavilion. The football club (Blyth Town FC) envisage opening hours on Wednesday evenings and Saturdays and Sundays.

Any representations should be made to Blyth Valley Borough Council before 27th June.

That was the headline in the Journal, reporting the crash between a contractor’s wagon on the way to the Academy site and a Vauxhall Astra. The accident was at the already bad junction between Fulmar Drive and South Newsham Road.

The article points out that the lorry driver is not believed to have been at fault, but as one resident is quoted “….. it backs our claim that this new school should never have been built in the middle of a residential estate…..”

 Exactly!!

At a meeting of residents, called by County Council officers, there were calls for local residents to write to the brewery to ask them to reverse their decision about the “temporary” access road to the school.

I was not at the meeting, so I can only say what I have heard. In fact District councillors were not invited, this being a county matter.

But the whole problem could have been avoided by siting the Academy elsewhere. When this was South Beach First School I fought to keep it on it’s present site. But now this is to be an Academy for the whole of Blyth there is no need to keep it what is an inappropriate, difficult to get to, site.

I will be meeting with councillors Rickerby and Reid to discuss possible solutions.